OT - Nick Fairley arrested again
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7977231/nick-fairley-detroit-lions-arrested-dui-charge-report-says
I said it when we drafted him, and I'll say it again. This dude is a bum. He even tried to elude the police.
Along with his marijuana charge earlier, this guy is a total head case and has no respect for the opportunity the Lions franchise gave him. Seems like he could be a real waste of talent.
They draft Fairley, a player with a questionable history in college and largely a one-season wonder, with the 13th overall pick. He proceeds to burn up the league with 9 solo tackles, 6 assists, and 1 sack. Total. For the season. The Redskins draft Ryan Kerrigan, a guy who was productive throughout his college career, just three picks later. Kerrigan has 41 solo tackles, 22 assists, and 7.5 sacks for a team that doesn't even make the playoffs.
Same old pussycats.
Comparing Fairley to Kerrigan is Apples to Oranges. Kerrigan is a DE/3-4 OLB, and they (the Lions) already have a surplus there. A better comparison would be Phil Taylor to Cleveland at 21
and he is a DT. Your analysis tells me you would be a senior writer for Bleacher Report.
What's got to be even more frustrating, even with the poor life choices this guy is making, if he didn't just drive around at 100 mph at all times, he likely wouldn't have been arrested in either situation. That is the one thing that I will never understand with some of today's high profile athletes, why in God's name would you drive 100 mph when you've got a pound of weed in the car or you've been drinking all night? It's pointless enough in the first place, but when you're wasted? How dumb do you have to be?
I've worked in the legal system a little bit and trust me, there are some dumb people in this country. Really dumb. Almost hard to fathom dumb. Dumber than dumb. Really. Dumb.
And some of those dumb people happen to be able to bench press hundreds of pounds and play football at a high level, those are the dumb people who make the news.
-Herm
[Or perhaps, bringing OT Lions news back on-topic to Michigan football...]
So since I hardly ever watch the Lions, I had never seen this dirty play by Fairley on Jay Cutler. Which was just shown on televsion; apparently part of the ready-made Nick Fairley Highlight Video Package. For which Fairley was (rightly, in my view) fined $15,000 by the NFL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEP4YT6Mf60
I had always maintained that Marcus Rush's roughing the passer penalty (wherein he succeeded in injuring Denard Robinson) last October would have earned him a large fine if it had occurred in the NFL. And that a suspension for Rush (in addition to Gholston) should have been handed down by the Big Ten Conference, since $15,000 fines don't work very well with college players. I still think I'm right:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21qTQUXi8gc
Compare and contrast.
To be fair, the only similarity I see between those two plays is that they were blatant roughing the passer penalties (and were called as such). The difference between Fairley's hit on Cutler and Rush's hit on Denard, is that Fairley drove Cutler into the ground with his shoulder/helmet. Rush just kind of twisted and slammed Denard to the ground; it was definitely a violent hit, but it was done more with his arms than his entire body. It almost looks like a wrestling move, and Denard just wasn't expecting it. Plus there was no helmet-to-helmet contact, which is what the NFL is most concerned about.
1. MAKE SURE YOU DON’T SUCK
Before you go out and start committing crimes, it’s important to first make sure you’re at least slightly better than the 30 or 40 guys the team’s assistant GM could instantly pull off some practice squad to replace you. Otherwise you will become fodder for the team’s zero-tolerance discipline policy. Conversely, if you’re awesome, the line will be, “There’ve been some bumps in the road, but hopefully he’s learned from that.”
Who wants to join the Nick Fairley fan club?
Anyone?
Is there one?
was a steal when they got him. A top 5 player dropping out of the top 10. Lions took the best player available, which is never a bad strategy.
Unfortunately it looks like all the teams that passed on him because of character issues were correct in their assesment.
Damn shame, kid gets the opportunity of a lifetime and simply can't control himself. Happens way to often.
I hope Lions fans aren't too concerned. Ndamukong Suh could comprise your entire defensive line, and it would still likely be top-10 in the NFL.
I'm not a Lions fans but Fairley is my neighbor. I was rooting for him. It's too bad.
from what I am reading here that no one that has posted has ever made the mistake of getting behind the wheel when they have drank more than the legal limit to drive? The guy made two bad mistakes in a short period of time and got caught. It happens to good and bad people, whether they have money or not. Get over it and yourself.
Now, if you want to worry about something, maybe stop bashing his character (since I am guessing almost none of us truly know him) and start wondering if he is spending any time working out and getting healthy. He did play very well when he was healthy. And, as I recall, his health issue was not related to coming in out of shape, more like bad luck and being a big guy.
Maybe, just maybe, we should get off our pedestal and wait and see on this guy.
I haven't. It's common sense.
These are millionaire athletes. They're expected to conduct themselves in a manner like this. I'm not saying they should all be like Tebow, but at least show some semblance of common sense.
That being said, let's see how his career pans out when he's actually healthy. I get your point that it's only his first year.
Look where he is from! The SEC, this is just a common occurance through most of these players. There is no character standard in the SEC programs besides maybe Vanderbilt and that is because you cant get any ordinary idiot with talent in without a decent GPA. If you can "run and play ball" you can play in the SEC. There is no expectation besides winning for them which is fine and dandy if you have no real concern about their character in the first place. I love the Lions but I live in TN and when I heard he was visiting the Titans before the draft it made me cringe because the kid could not sound more like an uneducated thug if he were Pacman Jones. It is ridiculous that some players just cant embrace the amazing opportunity they have been presented. I hope he turns his act around but judging from his mugshot he has no remorse and needs to go back to "Alabama"(Forrest Gump voice)
Look where he is from! The SEC, this is just a common occurance through most of these players. There is no character standard in the SEC programs besides maybe Vanderbilt and that is because you cant get any ordinary idiot with talent in without a decent GPA. If you can "run and play ball" you can play in the SEC. There is no expectation besides winning for them which is fine and dandy if you have no real concern about their character in the first place. I love the Lions but I live in TN and when I heard he was visiting the Titans before the draft it made me cringe because the kid could not sound more like an uneducated thug if he were Pacman Jones. It is ridiculous that some players just cant embrace the amazing opportunity they have been presented. I hope he turns his act around but judging from his mugshot he has no remorse and needs to go back to "Alabama"(Forrest Gump voice)
What a total dumbass